Gareth Manson puts big questions to East Devon Council

PUBLISHED: 01:01 13 March 2008 | UPDATED: 08:54 10 June 2010

Gareth Manson, Labour s prospective parliamentary candidate for East Devon, has written to East Devon Council's chief executive, Mark Williams, asking important questions with regard to the formation, powers, and transparency of the Exmouth Regeneration

Gareth Manson, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for East Devon, has written to East Devon Council's chief executive, Mark Williams, asking important questions with regard to the formation, powers, and transparency of the Exmouth Regeneration Project Board. According to reports, this new board only needs approval from the town council before being given the green light by EDDC's executive. Mr Manson commented: "This new body will meet behind closed doors and will include representatives from the private sector. In fact, less than half of its members will come from elected bodies."Mr Manson added: "Many residents will suspect that the Exmouth Regeneration Project Board is nothing more than a vehicle to bypass due democratic process and to take the ASDA superstore project forward, away from scrutiny and against public opinion. They will see this as an abuse of the trust they have placed in their elected representatives and an insult to the democratic process."Specifically, Mr Manson wants Mr Williams to answer the following questions:l By what district governmental process does EDDC propose to form the Exmouth Regeneration Project Board?l What are the powers and the limitations of powers of this new board?l Will the members of this new body be covered by the same code of conduct as elected representatives and will referral by the public to the local government ombudsman be a possibility?l By what authority is this new body proposing to exclude the public of Exmouth from its deliberations about the future of their town?Mr Manson has written to the Leader of EDDC, Sara Randall Johnson, to ask for her comments and to East Devon MP Hugo Swire to ask for his support in ensuring that decisions made for Exmouth are made in a clear and transparent manner.